KATHMANDU, May 19: A Chinese climber has lost his life while climbing Mount Everest. Fifty-two-year-old Xuebin Chen is among the deceased.

Lakpa Sherpa, director of the 8K Expedition Agency, said that he died in the South Col area at 8,000 meters above the sea level. According to director Sherpa, Xuebin died on Thursday morning. He died after falling unconscious during oxygen replacement. “We will know in detail after they return to the Base Camp on Sunday,” said Sherpa.

A total of 13 international climbers including 5 from Russia, 3 from India, 3 from Mongolia and 2 from China were in that group. Russian national Victor Voldin led the team. According to director Sherpa, the family of the deceased and the Embassy of China are discussing what to do next. He said, "We are talking to the family and the Chinese embassy. We will dispatch the body as soon as possible in cooperation with the family and the embassy."

This year's spring climbing started on May 13 at 1:52 PM after a group of icefall doctors finished fixing the ropes to the summit of Mt Everest. A team of nine Sherpa climbers from Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition Company opened the route to the peak of Mt Everest. 

In the history of climbing Mt Everest, the world's highest peak, this year saw the highest number of permits in spring. On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary had successfully climbed the summit of Mt Everest for the first time. In the 70-year history of ascending Mt Everest, the Department of Tourism said that the highest number of people have taken permission to climb Mt Everest in the spring of this year.

 
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